How to test the sound quality on 2.1 sound system using PCI-4461?

[shinhwa]

Hello

I want to test a loudspeaker with 2.1 sound system. How can I test this sound quality using PCI-4461?

Shall I test the left channel speaker, right channel speaker and woofer respectively?

Which items shall I choose? Frequency Response, THD, SPL, Phase...... Please correct if these items do not need.

Thanks in advance.

[J_Thomas]

Hi shinhwa,

Testing the sound quality of a loudspeaker can be an exciting and challenging project.  There are many things to take into account and it sounds like you have started asking the right questions about which equipment to use, which tests to run, test order, etc..  With LabVIEW, Sound and Vibration Toolkit, your PCI-4461, and some other instruments like a microphone you should be able to run a wide variety of tests on your speaker.  You will also want to consider the environment in which you are testing the speakers as it will have an effect on your results.  The ideal situation would be an anechoic chamber.  To get started I would recommend you start browsing through the following resources.  I would also look at some of the many other resources available on the web that discuss appropriate test for speaker quality.

Acoustic Test Chambers and Environments

Sound and Vibration Transducers GuideSound and Vibration Interactive Application Tutorials, Product Demos, and Case Studies

Audio Test Technical Resource Library

10 Questions to Ask When Selecting Your Sound and Vibration Measurement System

Measurement of Sound Quality

One-Shot Gain, Phase, & Distortion Measurement (DAQmx)

Audio Measurements Made Easy with LabVIEW

Measurement of Sound Power Level Emissions

Also, if you have the Sound & Vibration Toolkit, it comes with many example programs.  Open LabVIEW and then go to Help >> Find Examples.  Browse to Modules and Toolkits >>Sound and Vibration.

[shinhwa]

Hi Jared Thomas,

Thanks so much for your kindness.

I still learn about the PCI-4461 and try to use this useful tool to check our product.

Now I'm going on the frequency response test using the sweep sine method. I found that it was very strict with the environment incluing the acoustic chamber.

But my colleague told me that if we were using some other test method like MLS to follow this test, it would be more better because it depended less on the test surroundings.  Also the test time would be very short and it would not consider the reflecting sound inside the acoustic chamber if the chamber doesn't achieve the requirements.

I found that it does not have any example for the MLS test in LabVIEW. How can I use the MLS.vi to generate the sound to the speaker on PCI-4461? Could you give me some advice or any useful examples? Thanks in advance!

Best Regards

Shinhwa

[J_Thomas]

Hi shinhwa,

Do you have the Sound & Vibration Toolkit?

If so, it looks like the SVL Measure Progration Delay (DAQmx) may perform what you are looking for.  In the Full or Professional Development System version of LabVIEW you can use the MLS Sequence Waveform to create your test signal.

The PCI-4461 is programmed with the NI-DAQmx hardware driver.  LabVIEW has many examples that will work with this device.

I would recommend that you start with the NI Example Finder.  Open LabVIEW and then go to Help >> Find Examples.  Browse to Hardware Input and Output >> DAQmx .  From here, you can go to Analog Generation >> Voltage for many examples on how to output a signal on one of the channels of the PCI-4461. My guess is that you will want an example that has synchronized analog input and output.  Some of these examples can be found in the Synchronization >> Multi-Function folder. You start with something like Multi-Function-AI-AO.vi.

In most of these examples you will see a DAQmx Write VI.  In general, the output of the VI you use to generate the MLS test signal will be wired into a DAQmx Write VI to tell LabVIEW which signal to output. 

There are many more examples related specifically to Sound & Vibration that you would want to check out as well if you have the Sound & Vibration Toolkit.

[shinhwa]

Hi Jared Thomas,

I'm most appreciative of your kindly suggestion.

Best Regards

Shinhwa